KAMPANYA NG PINOY SA FIBA 3X3, SIMULA NA

PAGKALIPAS ng apat na taon, nagba­balik ang Pilipinas sa FIBA 3X3 World Tour Masters, ang top 3x3 circuit sa buong mun­do. Dalawa ang magiging kinatawan ng ban­sa sa unang yugto ng Masters na gaganapin mula ngayong araw (Abril 18) hanggang bukas (Abril 19) sa Katara Amphi­thea­tre sa Doha, Qatar.

Nag-qualify ang Pasig Chooks (Pasig Kings) sa torneo matapos magwagi sa Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 President’s Cup. Nakasama ang Balanga Chooks (1Bataan Risers) pag­karaang sumegunda sa Chooks-to-Go 3x3 Asia Pacific Super Quest.

Ayon kay league commis­sio­ner Eric Altamirano, handang makipagsabayan ang dalawang Philippine-based club teams kontra sa mga world’s finest sa 3x3 basketball.

“Given the short time of preparation, I was surprised with how intense and how fo­cused the players are. They were so intense that there was a lot of frustrations shown and some flare-ups,” ani Altami­rano. “We expected that because they want to win and they really want to have a good representation for the country in the World Tour.” Pangungunahan ng top 2 Filipino players na sina Joshua Munzon at Taylor Statham ang Pasig Chooks sa pag­sabak sa Pool A at sasamahan sila nina Serbian import Nikola Pavlovic at 2015 top French player Angelo Tsagarakis.

Kakatawanin naman ang Bataan nina Alvin Pasaol (Philippine’s no. 4 player), Leonard Santillan (no. 5), Karl Dehesa (no. 10), at American guest player Travis Frank­lin. Napabilang sila sa Pool C kasama ng 2019 Wuxi Challenger champion Riga Ghetto at Moscow.

Ang top 2 teams mula sa bawat grupo ang uusad sa knockout playoffs at ang magwawagi ay makapag-uuwi ng USD 30,000 at USD 20,000 para sa runner-up.

Samantala, naniniwala naman si Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 owner Ronald Masca­riñas na kayang manggulat ng dalawang kinatawan ng Pilipinas sa torneo. “Having been with these guys since February, I honestly believe that our players have su­perior skills. However, we need to play dis­ciplined and smart basketball with no individualism at all,” ani Mascariñas. “If they do this, I am confident that we can come out on top in Doha.” (VA)